Midcentury Modern Tulip Chair DIY Re-do

A vintage Mid Century Modern chair from my studio got a new life with a few staples and old fashioned elbow grease! This chair is by Burke, similar to the Tulip Style of Eero Saarinen for Knoll
but without the high price tag. The chair has been well loved over the years and needed a facelift. I snapped a few pics along the way to show the transformation in this DIY upholstery
project.

Got this awesome vintage vinyl from my uncles upholstery/furniture shop, Wynans Furniture. My uncle has had his shop since 1955 and let me tell you he has the best vintage shizz you can
imagine!

Materials Needed

eye protection

gloves

pen or pencil

pliers

staple remover (I used leverage with an old ice pick)

stapler (I had an electric staplegun)

foam (reused existing as it was in good shape)

vintage vinyl

measuring tape

scissors

heat gun (I used a hairdryer)

screwdriver

patience

Instructions

1. Take a photo of the chair and parts along the way. This will help with putting it back together later, you think you remember but.... Unscrew the top from the underside and mark the
front and back on the underside in pencil. I didn't mark front an back on my project as there were two screw holes on the back and only one in the front. With previous projects with
square seats good to make note of sides, trust me on this one.

2. Remove the old vinyl. I didn't have a stapler remover so I used an old steel ice pick to prop up the staples and used leverage with needle nose pliers to remove them. Kinda
'rolled' the staples out as to opposed to pulling straight up.. I used the existing foam covering as it was in good shape and kept it intact.

3. Place your seat top side down on the back side of the vinyl and cut leaving a good 3 to 4 inches around. You'll need the extra length to pull on when stapling.

4. With vinyl straight I did the first two staples on the top and bottom as anchors and turned over to check it was straight.

5. Secure sides with a few staples and pull vinyl taught but not too tight. I alternated a few on all four points, top, bottom, left, right then started around one corner. I had
seen on a YouTube video that someone used a heat gun to soften the vinyl to get smooth corners. I didn't have a heat gut so used a hairdryer on high to soften and it did the trick.

6. Finish stapling around, softening with hairdryer on corners and pulling fabric slightly taught. I staggered some of the staples to for more strength. Check your work as you go
along.

7. Trim excess vinyl with scissors. I left about 1/2 an inch around the staples. Didn't want to cut too close except in spots that I needed access to the screw holes.

8. Turn the piece over as you go along to make sure you're on track. Smoooooth corners from my trusty hairdryer!

9. Finding your front and back markings from before, place your newly covered seat on the chair and screw into place. You may have to trim a bit of the excess fabric where it's a bit bulky
in corners for a good fit.